The complications of surgical treatment of displaced fractures of the olecranon

Abstract

Forty-eight patients who had undergone internal fixation of a displaced fracture of the olecranon by either a tension band technique (34 patients) or screwing (14 patients) were reviewed. The functional results after at least 2 years were equally good with both methods, but there was a considerably higher rate of separation at the fracture after screwing than after inserting a tension band. The technical quality of the fixation was open to criticism in half the cases in each group, and the implications of this are discussed.